Sustainability vs. Planned Obsolescence

From our new homes, to cars, cellphones, coffeemakers and couches, most everything mass produced is built to break. 

When choosing materials for making furniture, cost effectiveness and ease of mass production greatly outrank durability and quality, leading to what is known as “fast furniture”. Like fast fashion it’s meant to be purchased cheaply, used for a short time and then be replaced. 

In an economy driven by promoting rabid consumerism, companies don’t want you to buy a couch and keep it for 30 years. It's better for them if the couch looks great in the store and only lasts a few years, then you can buy a new model. The life expectancy of new pressboard furniture is about 3-5 years. There’s not much point reupholstering something when the frame is going to fall apart before the foam gets soft or the fabric wears out. 

Consumers are happy with the initial price and look of the pieces, but 3 years later they are saddened by the state of their furniture. Then they face trying to recover or repair their ‘made to be disposable’ pieces, or buying new pieces again. 

Older furniture frames can outlast the fabric, many times in our shop we see old pieces that have been recovered multiple times. 

Old furniture was made of solid wood, fitted and secured using methods which would hold up for decades. When the old wood furniture finally went to the landfill it would eventually decompose. Now the pieces contain non-biodegradeable laminates, plastic fittings and chemicals that don’t break down. Mixed materials, like pressboards made of a glue and wood chip solution, are currently impossible to recycle, difficult to repair and can’t withstand use, moisture or damage as well as actual timber.   

Old growth forests are being destroyed at a rapid rate - Furniture production is the 3rd largest consumer of wood. Some companies claim to plant new trees to counteract the destruction, but these are often monoculture plantations rather than functional forest ecosystems. 

From deforestation and water use to toxic emissions during production, and the fact that fast furniture sits in landfills for hundreds of years, the environmental impact is enormous. This impact is compounded by the short lifespan of these pieces, leading to more of them ending up in landfills. 

Custom upholstery may cost more than buying new, however, you will get a quality product where you can see and feel the paddings before we do the job. You can request style changes and choose fabric in colours and patterns that please you rather than settling for what is mass produced and broadly appealing.

Also, by supporting a locally owned independent business you are supporting local employment. 

and keeping money in our community, rather than giving it to a giant conglomerate's shareholders.

Our choices have impact, even if we don’t see or feel the effects right away. The cost of fast furniture is much higher for the environment than the price tag would suggest. 

Choose to invest your dollars towards a sustainable existence.